Reasons for why we're Heroes
by Library of the mind
Summary: In a world were superpowers are the norm, are there many reasons for why people want to become heroes. Some do it for fame any money, while others do it to save people and help society. Some do it because they want to become recognized as the best, while another does it because it is their dream. Some however does it because that is the only thing they feel they can do.


As of late have I been really interested in what is probably the biggest series in a couple years now, and it has quickly become one of my favorite series. So with every series I like want I to make a story around it. I don't have to high expectations of it myself, but it would make me very happy if you would read it and tell me your thoughts, as well as things you would want me to improve on.

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. The only thing I own are my OC's.

* * *

Chapter 1

Quirks. The unexplainable phenomena that had now become a part of everyday life since it suddenly appeared made its first appearance in the Chinese city of Qingqing, when a newborn baby showed the ability to emanate light. After this occurrence started more cases of people that developed superhuman abilities to appear all over the world, whereupon many started calling it the next stage in human evolution. No one is really certain of how this sudden and unexpected change came about, but it wasn't long until people stopped questioning it and accepted it into their lives. These extraordinary abilities quickly becoming a part of people's everyday life.

However, with the sudden appearance of powers and abilities formerly only seen in fiction, didn't it take long before heroes as well villains started appearing all around the world. Changing the world and society even further than just the appearance of quirks. And nowadays have about 80 percent of the world's population one of these wondrous quirks, while some are still born as regular humans as remaining 20 percent. These being categorized as quirkless.

Not everybody views this new change in humanity as being something positive, and not just because of the rise of heroes and villains. Some didn't look at their or others quirk as something positive however, while some of those of the unlucky minority looked at quirks with jealousy or disgust. The reasons for all of which was different from person to person.

One young man that fits in on one of these descriptions is the one that is going to be in the main focus of this story. The main character as one would call those that are the focus of the story.

His current appearance as he walked through the streets kind of made him stick out, even when considering how early it was and the cold weather. Nothing could really be described about his own appearance thanks to the clothes he was currently wearing. A hoodie covered his top part of his school uniform, its hood placed over his head. Sunglasses, which was quite odd at this time of day, and a face mask that was mostly seen being used by sick people covered his face. And a pair of gloves covered his hands, completing the rather unusual look with something that was kinda expected.

With all of these clothes was the vast majority of his skin was hidden from the eyes of the public, as well as most natural forces such as the early morning cold. Not that there were many awake at this hour, seeing how early it was even for it being a weekday. Those awake now were few, only those with jobs far away from were they lived and some occasional hero on patrol being out on the streets. None of which really looked at him in suspicion as they passed him, just looking at the clothes he wearing for a second before continuing with what they were doing.

The young man didn't care for their momentary glances, just walking the same road he had done every weekday the last couple of years. This of course meant that some people did recognise him, as it had become a common occurrence as a result. Shopkeepers that woke up early to prepare their stores greeted the young man as he walked past them, never breaking his stride as he did.

It didn't take very long for him to reach his destination, getting there before anyone else had arrived. The gate standing tall before him, with a presence that would overwhelm those not prepared to face everything it symbolized, had yet to be opened. This wasn't something new to the young man, having done the very same thing many times back at his middle school. People did say the early bird gets the worm, but he had learnt that that saying was only true as long as you didn't wake before the worm. Which he often did.

He looked past the closed gate and its great walls that stretched around the campus, seeing the great main building that looked to be almost entirely made out of glass from this angle.

U.A High School, number 1 ranked school in Japan when it comes to training and preparing the next generation of heroes. This did however mean that a lot of people applied to the school, and there were only a small number of people that made it into the hero department. And to see who had what it took to be one of those few individuals, would one need to come out higher than the others in the school's entrance exam. This consisted of two parts.

First a written test similar to what any other high school had, were purely one's academic ability was put to the test. Then there was the thing that made it different from a normal high school: the practical test. The information regarding that part of the test was scarce, only its existence being something that one could come across when one read about it. What it actually entailed was not something the young man was aware of, but he was fairly certain that it would involve one's quirk.

Only those best suited for the role of heroes would be accepted, and that meant that one would have to give it their all in hope of getting in among the few that were chosen. The young man removed one of the gloves and held up his now uncovered hand before him. With a thought felt he something wake to life within him, with his hand suddenly starting to shine a bright light, with the temperature surrounding it rising slightly as it shone. But as his hand stopped giving off light, appeared a grimace on his face after the small display of his power.

'It's not enough'

As he had reached that conclusion started he to remove the top layer of clothing that covered his body. This being the hood of his hoodie, gloves, face mask, and sunglasses. Each article of clothing removed revealing more and more of his appearance. Medium length, bright orange hair showed itself as the hood was removed, and sky blue eyes emerged as he removed the glasses. This left plenty of his skin exposed to the morning cold and light breeze that blew, but this was necessary in order for him to be in top form in time for the practical exam. He didn't like it, but it was necessary anyway.

The red head stood there waiting, feeling how his quirk reacted to the element that was absolutely necessary for its use. But as he stood there waiting, started he to thinking about his decision of coming here. Going through the things he had talked about with his teacher when they asked him where he wanted to go after middle school.

'Is this really the way I want to go? Not really.'

'Then why am I here? Because this the only thing I know I can be useful at.'

'Why is that? Because this way my quirk can finally become more than just a burden. Both for me and others.'

Before his thoughts could go any further was he brought back to reality as something caught his attention while he was looking past the gate. Something, or rather someone was moving towards the gate. Carrying in their arms what looked to be a sign of some kind.

The one carrying the sign was the pro hero Cementoss, whose name really fitted his appearance, as he looked like a humanoid block of cement. The gates opened a moment after he reached it, but the middle schooler didn't move from his spot, just looking as the Pro Hero set up the sign. He then left with a smile, making him able to read what it stood on the sign.

'EXAM DAY HAS ARRIVED AT LAST' it in large letters, making them quite hard to miss as long one looked in the sign's direction. Without any words started the early arrival to move towards the school, while more students from his and other schools also started arriving as well.

The first step of reaching the potential of becoming a hero had been taken. The only question remaining to all of those that had taken that first: Do you have what it takes?

…

The overdressed teen looked down at the slip of paper he had been given after arriving, seeing it display not only his face, but his name and examine number, even the middle school he went to. Then there was the letter that indicated in which battle area they would take the test.

Name: Maya Hinode

Test Location: Battle Center C

Around him was all the other students that had gathered after the written exam. Just like every human was different, had they their own special quirk to add to that diversity. While two quirks could be very similar in nature, would there always be something that made them different from their duplicate. But even so was the chances of there being someone with a similar quirk in this room very unlikely, just with how divers they really were.

This was something he took extra note of when arriving by his indicated Battle center. It was hard to figure out just by looking at someone, unless they had a mutation quirk like the girl with vines for hair not too far from him, especially when one decided to keep to themselves. He wasn't here to make friends, here and now were they all potential threats, competing for a spot in the much sought after Hero course.

"AAAAND START!"

There hadn't been a countdown, but as soon as Present Mic shouted those words had some people by all Battle centers started moving, while those caught off guard starred up in shock at the Pro for a moment, having expected some form of forewarning, before they too started running into the city replica, behind those that had already started.

Amongst those that started running into Battle center C as soon as the signal was given was Maya. He was aware that one couldn't hesitate, if you didn't respond immediately would someone else do so instead. The more mistakes one made, the lower ones chances of getting into the course you wanted got as a result. Something which he couldn't afford.

Light and heat started radiating from his body, as power coursed to his arms and legs. But as he tapped just a bit into his quirk, felt he the raging inferno that waited to be released at that moment. He held it back.

"Target acquired"

Several mock villains started making their presence known as they appeared out of the many alleyways within the city replica. Most of them were the easier 1 pointers, mixed with a couple 2 pointers. There was however a lack of 3 pointers. Probably done intentionally to give them an easier start.

The hand of the orange haired boy sunk into metal covered shell of the smaller 1 pointer, the strength of his grip making it look like tin foil as it was crushed by the force exerted by his hand. The robot was then tossed towards one of the 2 pointers farther away, mustering up as much strength as possible while still keeping his quirk in check. The resulting force of their collision was enough to take out both of them at the same time, both becoming nothing more than scrap metal in the process. He proceeded towards the next 1 pointer closest to him-

Only for it to be destroyed by vines erupting from the ground. Something which was also true for 2 others nearby. Maya turned his gaze away from the mock villains, and saw that those that had lagged behind had already caught up to him. And of those was the vine haired girl the quickest to get into action. Her hair extended into the ground before shooting up from the ground and crushing the robots after wrapping around them. And her effective range seemed to be increasing as time went on.

She was currently the biggest obstacle from his perspective. If he wanted to come out on top would he need destroy robots faster than her. He took hold of another of the easy villains, destroying one of its arms in the process, and tossed it, this time towards two robots identical to the one he threw. But in the time he had destroyed those three, had the… vinette already taken out two 1 pointers and one 2 pointer. He wouldn't be able to continue with this, he would need to find a location farther away. Preferably with more mock villains, as they had started to run out in this area after the increase of examines.

He ran past the remaining robots, only taking on those that got in his way. Which tallied up to 7 additional points in total after charging through the robots that had stood in his way.

He needed to find a spot with more targets, preferably without any competition and a couple of 2 pointers and 3 pointers.

It didn't take long before he found the next collection of mock villains gathered in the street, and quickly got to work. He charged into the middle of the gathered robots, before releasing as much of his quirk's power as possible. In an intense wave of heat melted the robots closest to him enough to utterly destroy them, while those just outside that range overheated and shut down.

'Keep control'

He proceeded to pick off the mock villains that had been unaffected by the heat wave he created, his strengthened kicks and punches allowing him to take them all out before anyone else managed to arrive. They hadn't been nearly as many as the group in the beginning, but this one had at least consisted of a 3 pointer. However, had his decision to fully release his quirk, even if for just a moment, cost him a lot of energy.

He would still be able to keep it running, but he couldn't fully release it without running out of fuel. Just like he liked it.

As the exam continued noticed he that the villains started becoming more and more scattered. Not many groups appeared in numbers larger than two, and even then was the highest number of robots 3. This meant he would need to cover more ground in order to produce the same worth of points as earlier. About 8 minutes into the exam had Maya managed to put together a little more than 40 points.

'I hope this will be enough for me to get in'

He had noticed an even greater decline in villains as it closed towards the end. This was more because the examines had spread themselves out so much that they took out every robot in all areas. Maya had been able to take some out before others realised that either the villains or he had been there, the only clue being a destroyed robot.

The ground suddenly started shaking, as what sounded like explosions went off not far from where he was. Turning around, was he meet with the sight of a robot far bigger than the others. Towering over the buildings of the suburban replica, it seemed to be staring down on the street with its seven red dots. Voices of panic could be heard in front of him, as other examines ran away from the colossal mock villain. Something which he agree on, preparing to follow their example and run away.

At least until he saw large pieces of one building falling towards one of the other examines, right over their head in the largest blindspot. There was no way for them to notice that pieces of rubble heavy enough to kill a human was heading right towards them, even more so when taking into account the panic they were currently in. Unless someone did something would they surely die.

Time seemed to slow down. He needed to do something, but what could he do? Even with his boost in strength wouldn't he be able to reach them in time. And he was too far away for them to hear him if he called out to them. But even so would he have to try.

All restraints he had placed on his quirk were released, causing an immediate increase in temperature around him. The road underneath his feet started to melt and boil, while the air started vibrating at high speed. The light his body extruded in combination with this heat would have blinded anyone that looked directly at him for too long. Power coursed throughout his entire body, but he felt the fatigue of drawing this much power without properly charging his quirk for several days. At best would this only last for 5 seconds, but he would have to make due.

In a burst of speed sent he himself flying forward, charging towards the falling rubble with his hands formed in an X, covering parts of his face from any smaller rubble that he might have missed. Then as he reached the rubble, threw he out both hands in a chop like motion. Dust exploded in all directions, the rubble having been pulverized by the force exerted from his attack.

He had managed to save them-

'...This is bad...'

-But now he was the one in danger. His positioning in the air was awkward, and he was still moving forward even as he was falling. The damage he would sustain, not just from the fall, but also from sliding along the ground would no doubt cause severe damage.

"Don't worry, I got you!"

Or that is what would have happened, if the ground hadn't cracked open as several vines forced their way through and caught him midair. They lowered him to the ground before disappearing into the ground. Bright blue eyes looked towards the direction the voice had come from, already having an idea for who it was that had saved him. And just as he thought, standing behind the examine he had saved, was the girl with vines for hair.

"Thanks." he said as he ran past her, having to get away from the Arena Trap. The vine haired girl not far behind, having started running herself.

"Your welcome."

About every examine had already returned to the starting gate, having felt that it wasn't worth going up against the huge monstrosity that was the 0 pointer. And by the time they also arrived had time ran out, officially ending this year's entrance exam into U.A. All one could do now is just wait while the school decided those that would get in, and those that didn't depending on their performance in the two exams. Maya was pretty confident about his chances, feeling that he did pretty good in both parts. But the underlying feeling of doubt was there nonetheless, as one could never know if you did enough.

'I have to get in'

…

About a week has passed since the entrance exam, and there have yet to be any response from the school. The red head continued on with his life as he usually did, covering his body in an exaggerated amount of clothing, keeping his quirk as low on power as possible throughout the day. The days had almost went by in a flash, having spent the days doing what he always did, mainly school and routinely training his body. But he always looked back at the entrance exam, trying to think if there was anything he could have done a little differently to get a better score. This was something he ultimately gave up on everytime, as he had no way of knowing if it would make any difference.

"Hey, big bro, you've gotten the letter you were waiting for."

That was his younger sister, middle child of the Hinode family, Asahina. Much like the majority of their family had she bright orange hair from their mother, but she was also the only one to inherit their father's hair color, as it ended in light brown tips. Her eyes were entirely from their father's, being a dark shade of blue, in contrast to his brighter azure, as he had inherited some of their mother's eyes color as well.

"Thank you sis." He went in for a hug, but she stepped back, getting out of range.

"No problem, just promise me you won't come crying to me if you didn't get in." She walked to her room, leaving her brother alone with the letter she had handed him.

Maya looked down at the letter for a moment, contemplating if he should actually open it. There was no real reason not to, it was just that he was nervous for if his result was enough, both in the written and practical exam. Several thoughts of doubt flew through his head, most of which was centered around his overall performance and how he had purposely strangled his quirk of its power source. All because it was 'dangerous'.

'I'm over thinking things, as usual'

He opened the letter, finding a small circular projector inside. It shone to life in his hand, and a projection appeared before him-

"I am here as a projection!"

-Only for All Might, the number one hero, to appear in the projection. The sudden shock was short lived however, as he focused in on what the Pro hero said.

"Starting this semester will I start working as a teacher at U.A, and have been tasked with telling the students their results. Now… Maya Hinode, you were able to pass the written exam by a sizable margin, and your performance in the practical exam was admirable. In fact,"

The camera moved over to a screen that had been outside the area the lens could capture.

"Not only did you take out the mock villains with great efficiency, but you also displayed the ability to recognize when someone else is in danger, and the will to save that person out of selflessness. All of which are qualities we are searching for in aspiring heroes. And as a Hero course-"

With the press of a button in the man's hand woke the screen to life, several names and numbers appearing on it, his included.

"can't we overlook when one saves another. Together with your 43 villain points, have you been awarded 33 rescue points, for a total of 76 points!"

He came in second. Of all participants had he gotten second place.

"I welcome you, young Hinode, to U.A."

He got in.

…

A couple months later, when spring rolled around, was it his first day as a student of U.A. And he had already slept in.

'Come on, my first day and I am already going to be late'

The only clothing he had managed to put on before running out of the door was the school uniform issued by the school. No hoodie, no sunglasses, only his gloves having been put on before flying out the door. He had nothing that would keep his quirk from charging properly other than the clothing on his body. It didn't take long before the school was within sight, its gate open to the students. He ran into the main building, and searched for his classroom somewhat frantically.

When he did find it rushed he inside, swinging the door open as fast as he could. "Sorry that I'm… late?"

The room was devoid of any other life, and there were no signs of there having been someone in here up until now. But that shouldn't be possible, he had overslept after all. He looked at the nearest clock, only to realise that it was still early for anyone to arrive. While he had in fact slept in, did it only mean that he awoke at about the same time that some adults headed to work, all because of his messed up sleeping schedule.

His hand lighted up, allowing him to feel how much fuel his quirk currently had. It was a moderate amount, but it was far from being fully charged, not enough if he wanted to become a hero. This was something he needed to do, if he wanted to learn accept his quirk, would he first need to release his quirk.

'And it will all begin here' he pulled off the gloves. 'In 1B.'

* * *

Standard information of my OC

Maya Hinode (深弥日ノ出)

Gender: Male

Age: 16

School: U.A

Class: 1B

Thank you for reading.


End file.
